Magic, Broomsticks, and Chests too!
by Chowdergal
Summary: Alternate Universe: The last thing Arthur Kirkland expected was working for a magic library in downtown london. Read and review.Chapter 2 up!
1. College Trouble: Meeting Arthur Kirkland

**Magic, Broomsticks, and Chests too!**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, Action/Adventure**

**Characters: America, England, France, Spain, Romano, Austria, Russia, Prussia, , Sealand, Canada, the Baltic nations, the Nordic nations, China, Japan, Korea, Germany, N. Italy.**

**Warnings: Boy love, Suggestive Dialogue, and Attempted Character Suicide **

_It was his secret, nobody else's…_

_However it was very hard to keep. _

"_You betrayed me!" came Arthur's upset voice. _

"_Nah, you think? Messing with someone's emotions like that is my job. To get them to let down their guard long enough to steal this…" said Alfred, holding up the piece of parchment. "You know…I should thank you though, you gave me the best kiss ever, even if you're the worst wizard's apprentice ever. If you weren't on my list, I would let you live, but since you are..." he trailed off, letting Arthur figure out the rest of the sentence._

_You know, it wasn't always like this; Arthur never used to be in this kind of trouble 6 days earlier, he hadn't even heard of this Alfred person…or even knew how a heart could break until now. _

6 days earlier…

Arthur was snoring again.

"Wake up Arthur, wake up Arthur…" whispered the voice. The man didn't move an inch. "Arthur, wake up!" he yelled. Green eyes opened and narrowed at the young child before him.

"What is it Peter, and what are you doing in my room?!"

"Are you forgetting something about today?" Peter questioned. When Arthur made no response and gave his usual glare at him, Peter continued. "College, for example?"

Arthur bolted straight up out of bed and looked at the clock. "It's nearly 9:00 o clock!" Arthur turned from the clock to his younger brother with disapproval. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" The small boy shrugged.

"I thought it would be funny to see you struggle with your morning."

"Ha, ha, don't be fooled by my sarcastic tone, I'm laughing on the inside." said Arthur, putting on his school uniform. He realized something then. "Wait, Peter aren't you supposed to go to school too?"

"Uhhh…" came the boy's response.

Arthur sighed. "You can't just stay here" He grabbed his brother's hand. "Here, let me help you get there on time." Peter snatched his hand back.

"Just try and make me go to that…that school! I'm my own man; I can take care of myself!"

"Well you living with me says otherwise." Said Arthur reaching for his brother's hand again. "Now stop being foolish and come with me."

"No way!" Arthur sighed and brought out the threatening voice.

"Peter, don't make me force you to."

"Bet you can't anyway!"

"Just watch me!" Arthur dove for Peter, but he was too slow... Peter was already gone from his sight. Arthur groaned.

"_Can today get any worse?" _

* * *

After giving up on capturing Peter, the young gentleman made his way to Thomas Nabraty's college for men. However, by the time he got there, the school doors were already locked and he was forced to find an open window to climb into. He did, but unfortunately he was spotted by his history teacher, Mr. Flaunt.

"Arthur Kirkland, did you just come in through that window?" Even though it was completely rhetorical question, Arthur lied anyway.

"No sir." Mr. Flaunt felt his temperature rise. This young man dared challenge his wits? He looked at piece of paper that was sticking out of his backpack that was titled: 'History Report'.

"Since you feel the urge to lie, how about you share your report that was due yesterday?" Arthur gulped.

"It's in my…urm, desk at home." Instantly, the revolting teacher grabbed the piece of paper sticking out of his backpack and began to read it. After he was done, he had turned an ugly shade of purple.

"THIS IS ALL RUBBISH!" he bellowed he looked it over a second time dishing out the key parts that were unacceptable and did not compute to his understanding of things. "Fairies, magic, and unicorns? This isn't history, this is fiction!"

"There's a lot out there we don't understand. Who said it was fiction?" protested Arthur, but the teacher wouldn't hear it.

"Arthur, I knew you weren't all the way there…but this, this is going way beyond that." He crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trashcan. "Now, until you write a _real _report on history, you are hereby banned from taking any classes whatsoever. Now get out of my sight."

"But," began Arthur, but the teacher raised a hand, silencing him.

"Out of my sight." Arthur grumbled and went out of the college.

"They are real, I just know it." he said to himself. The college door opened once more.

"Oh and Arthur, start with the library; I hear it makes you smarter." joked the teacher and slammed the door. Arthur sat down on the stone steps and sighed. Peter was skipping down the street joyfully with a lollipop in his hand until he saw his brother moping on the pavement.

"Hey Arty, what's up?" he asked. Arthur glared.

"Do not call me Arty."

"Oh I'm sorry, _Iggy _then."

"Just get out of here you little brat!" he yelled.

"OK jerk England!" Peter said, using his brother's country name. "But before I do leave you, there's something I want to tell you…something very important…"

"What?" snapped Arthur.

"I like PIE!" the younger brother yelled in his brother's ear and took off laughing.

Arthur threw a clump of dirt at Peter, causing a dark spot to appear on his trousers.

Sighing, Arthur went back to his previous mood. "Maybe the library wasn't such a bad idea after all." he thought aloud.

* * *

"Purpose of being here?" asked the wart infested librarian.

"Err…" said Arthur, too busy looking at the woman's disgusting warts. The woman seemed to notice this and smiled.

"Too bad sunny, I'm already married." Arthur nodded slowly, wishing the best of luck to the unlucky husband. "So what's your purpose?"

"I came here to do some research."

"We don't allow internet dating, or looking at any 'disturbing pictures' here." the woman said. Arthur blushed.

"N-No, that's not what I was going for. I meant history research."

"Well why didn't you say so? Here, here's a computer." she said, handing him the laptop. Arthur found a quiet spot and started researching.

* * *

Hours passed by, and still Arthur was at the library, looking at his country's history from the middle ages to the Victorian era. His eye lids became heavier and heavier until he could lift them no longer.

Several more hours later a sudden crash woke up the man.

Arthur wiped the drool off his chin and observed the surroundings. It was completely dark and everyone had left.

The crashing became louder.

"He-hello?" he asked. "Who's there?"

"He-hello?" Arthur asked again. The noise ceased, but he grew more nervous and worried. The diminished lights had made it almost impossible to see, but out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw something spiky and huge behind the rows of bookshelves.

"Can I help you sir?" came a deep feminine voice. Arthur leaped back in surprise. He thought everyone had left. The woman was average sized and skinny. Her hair was wrapped in a tight bun with only a small piece of ribbon to hold it up. The eyes were a mixture of periwinkle and blue. They may have been dull, but they shone like stars. She adjusted the spectacles on the nose of her fair skin.

"S-sorry, I just dozed off. I was on the computer for so long. I'm Arthur. Who are you?"

"I'm the night librarian." the middle aged woman replied. For a person in her 40s or 50s, she was pretty good looking. "Now what were you doing here?"

"There's something behind the books" said Arthur, pointing. The woman blinked in surprise.

"Beg pardon?"

"I thought I saw something behind the books." The woman's surprise turned into amusement.

"Oh young man, too many hours on the computer will make anyone hallucinate. Now go on and get home." She insisted with a pat on the shoulder. Arthur tried to protest, but let it go.

"You're right. I have been on the computer for so many hours; I think I must be losing it. I'm going home now." he said, and left.

"Come again soon!" the librarian called out to him.

The woman watched as the disappeared from view.

"Could he be a candidate we're looking for?" wondered the woman aloud. A man appeared beside her. He wasn't old; he was fairly young, having shiny brown hair and a clean shaven face. He stared equally at the boy as the woman was.

"No, he isn't a candidate we're looking for; he_ is_ the person we're looking for." The woman turned her head to face him.

"Are you sure, we've had a lot of failures in the past." The man grinned.

"Trust me; I have a really good feeling about this. You know something Mary-Ann?"

"What?"

"That man had extremely huge eyebrows." Mary-Ann rolled her eyes and went back in the back of the library.

_Well that's the first chapter. Let me know what you think. If you have any suggestions, just review. This story I'm sure I'm going to finish. _

_Some notes:_

_As you can tell, Peter lives with his jerky older brother Arthur in this one, not saying that he likes it: they can barely tolerate each other! ^-^_

_Arthur's college isn't a real college in London, just made it up_

_The other characters will appear shortly, I haven't forgotten about them (Yet)_


	2. Help Wanted

Back at the Kirkland house, things were getting wilder with each passing minute.

"Peter, would you please keep it down, I'm trying to write my report!" said Arthur. Peter bounced up and down on one of the couches.

"Not until you order me pizza!" Knowing that he wouldn't even get started on his report until his young bratty brother had his way, he called the pizza parlor. He was right, Peter wouldn't stop being annoying until the pizza go there. And when he demanded soda, Arthur behind his back slyly added a sleeping pill or two. In no more than an hour, the youngest brother was off snoring from the other room. Relieved that he had finally fallen asleep, Arthur concentrated on his report. He had the urge to put something fairytale-like "but Mr. Flaunt wouldn't dare accept that." he thought bitterly. Arthur slowly raised his pen and began writing; slightly wishing he had paid better attention in class then dozed off all the time. The grandfather clock by the fireplace wasn't making things any better either. Finally around midnight after staring blankly at his paper for so many hours, he had had enough and went to bed.

The next morning he was awakened by to a loud obnoxious sound.

"_Oh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" _Peter replied at the top of his lungs;

"_SpongeBob Squarepants!" _ Arthur rubbed his temples and frowned. As if he hadn't had enough things to worry about; now he had to deal with loud and annoying American Cartoons.

"Arthur, watch SpongeBob with me!" Peter exclaimed and invited him to sit down next to him. Arthur shook his head.

"Not today Peter, I'm busy, I didn't get anything down last night." Peter pouted.

"Aw come on Arthur, you used to watch it all the time with me!"

"Yeah that was before I went to college and was stripped of my freedom."

"Aw, screw college!" said Peter. Arthur's eyes widened.

"Peter, watch your mouth and don't use such vulgar language." Secretly, Arthur was thinking the same thing inside his head.

"I know you're thinking it too, to attend a college that doesn't accept what you believe in is treason!"

Arthur chuckled and rubbed his younger brother's hair. Sometimes Peter could be amusing.

"Tell me about it; tell you what, how about I make a good old fashioned continental breakfast for you before I leave today." Peter shuddered, fully aware of his brother's cooking.

"I was just going to have toast today, I'm alright!"

"Nonsense, I'll get to work right away." said Arthur and disappeared into the kitchen.

Several minutes or hours later, Peter lost track, smoke was spewing out of the kitchen. Arthur came out coughing.

"Breakfast is ready." Peter followed Arthur into the kitchen and saw two blackened circles with a black stick. Arthur stared glumly over the breakfast. "Bacon and eggs…" (They didn't have any rolls or anything to make a continental breakfast, so he had to go with that.)

Peter didn't want to offend his brother this time, so he took a bite of it. Swallowing hard, he forced a smile. "No it's ok." Arthur cheered up a bit; _at least Peter thinks its ok. _The front doorbell rang.

"Who could that be? Peter, finish your breakfast. I'll be right back." said Arthur and left. Peter seized the opportunity and dumped the rest of the disgusting breakfast outside. Arthur opened the door to reveal a man in a formal outfit.

"Hello, are you Arthur Kirkland?" he asked. Arthur nodded.

"Yes, what do you want?" The man revealed a letter addressed to him the shone in gold ink. He gave it to the surprised gentleman.

"Gee thanks Mr.…" said Arthur and looked around, but he was gone. "Hm, must've been off in a hurry. The funny thing is it's Sunday, who delivers mail on Sunday?" Arthur shrugged and closed the door opening it. The heading was addressed; _Biglowhill library._ The top of the paper had the stamp of a griffin-like creature next to the words. The country gulped. Maybe it was an overdue notice that he overlooked. He began to read.

_Dear Mr. Arthur Kirkland, _

_Due to the previous retirement, we, the staff of Biglowhill library. are pleased to inform you that you are wanted for a job interview. We are prepared to pay 67,401 pounds if you get the job. _

_Sincerely, Mary-Ann Smith._

_Night Librarian. _

Arthur read the paper over and over again, believing it was too good to be true. _Is this for real, or too good to be true?_ he wondered to himself. Peter came back into the living room where Arthur was.

"So, who was it?" questioned the nosy little child.

"No one important." said Arthur and threw the letter in the trash. Better safe than sorry was his motto-well one of mottos.

However that afternoon the same letter came back to the house. And not only was it the same letter, there were four duplicates to go with it.

"That's odd." Said Arthur and opened them all and gasped. They _were _the same letters.

"I think that library is trying to send you a message." Said Peter. "You better go."

Arthur hated to admit it, but he had seen Harry Potter before, and what fate awaited the family when they didn't answer.

--

The revolting woman at the library's desk again. "Well, well, look whose back." Arthur nodded.

"Yeah, erm," Arthur glanced at the note again. "I'm looking for Mrs. Smith?"

A woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was the same woman from before several nights earlier.

"Welcome, Mr. Kirkland." said Mary-Ann, shaking the man's hand. She looked even younger in daylight. "We've met before remember?" Arthur nodded.

"That one night, yeah I remember." The lady smiled.

"Well, let's get started with the interview, did you have any previous jobs before?"Arthur nodded nervously.

"I worked as a waiter before at a club."

"I see, have you ever been injured?" Arthur frowned.

"Well…sometime ago." _Why did she need to know? _

The woman smiled and gathered her papers together. "Welp, that's it!"

"That's it?" asked Arthur, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep!" Mary-Ann replied cheerfully, "Congratulations Mr. Kirkland, you've gotten the job!"

"Th-there aren't any other applicants?" questioned Arthur. The woman shook her head.

"You're the only one who meets our standards."

"But what exactly are your standards?" he wondered. The woman's smile became even wider.

"You'll learn in due time, right now, let's get you fitted for uniform." Arthur stood.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Mrs. Smith. I really don't think I'm qualified."

The woman's smile fell a little. "But Arthur…"

"I'm sorry. I have to go." said Arthur and walked out the office door.

"Come back Arthur! You'll regret this the moment you step in your house!" called out Mary-Ann pleadingly, but Arthur ignored her and kept walking. She sighed. "Man, that boy is in for a world of trouble tonight."

"So how'd it go?" asked Peter, looking at his returning brother. Arthur gave his 'look' and plopped down on the couch next to his morning tea. "I'm guessing it didn't go well…"

"Oh no, it went perfectly, too perfectly if you ask me. It's what threw me off a bit. I got the job and everything. It was like they specifically wanted me."

"So what did you do?"

"Turn them down."

"You moron."

"Well what else could I do? There's something strange about that library...." said Arthur picking up his tea and taking a sip. He looked at it in disgust. "It needs sugar." In almost an instant, the right lump of sugar appeared in his tea. Arthur looked at it curiously. "Peter, did you see that?"

"See what, you being all delusional over nothing?"

Arthur growled, but let that joke go. Maybe Peter was right. Taking another sip of tea which was strangely sweeter than the first, he turned to his brother.

"So what did you do while I was gone?"

"Nothing, just watched things on TV like exploding trucks." Arthur sighed.

"Why do you insist on watching things that go crash into other things?" Just then the tea cup in his hand shattered. Peter ducked past the flying shards. "Oh, that's just great! Now I'm going to have to clean that up." groaned Arthur and went to get a mop. When he returned, Peter had reseated himself on the couch.

"You could make yourself useful and help get towels. "

"Whoa, Arthur, how are you doing that?" asked Peter, in shock.

"Doing what? What are you talking about?" the older brother asked. It was then he realized the lights were flickering on and off. Peter shrank down in fear.

"I-it must be the electricity in this place, that's all." assured Arthur, but deep down, he was feeling just as scared if not more. The lights went completely off and they did not turn back on. Peter was no longer beside him.

"Peter, where are you?" asked Arthur. No reply came back.

"Peter this isn't funny, where are you?" Arthur asked again, getting more nervous with each step he took.

"Maybe Peter got scared and went into his room." He thought as he made his way to his brother's bedroom. When he arrived, nothing was there. So the little demon probably was hiding in his room, waiting to scare the crap out of him. He looked around in his room, which had the same results as the other room; nothing. He turned to leave, but of a sudden, the door slammed shut on him. He tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge.

"What the?" Open this door right now!" yelled Arthur, banging on it. It was no use; the door remained shut.

"Meow." Arthur whipped around. On his window sill sat a cat with shiny black fur. It just stared at Arthur, with no curiosity whatsoever.

"I don't know how you got in here, but you're going back out!" declared Arthur. He moved toward the cat which he expected to jump up, but the cat stood its ground, looking actually amused this man was trying to get him to move.

"Oh please don't waste your breath human; we cats all know you need the air." Arthur blinked.

"Did you just talk?"

"Well, what did you think I did?"

"This isn't normal, cats don't talk!" exclaimed Arthur, backing away from the strange cat.

"And this is coming from a human that actually believes in fairytales and moves things without touching them? Not to mention shattering that teacup of yours." The cat continued after licking its paw. "If you ask me, you're the not normal one."

"I'm perfectly normal!" protested Arthur.

"Yeah alright, if you were the normal one, I wouldn't be here coming to collect you."

"Collect me? What-"

"Believe it or not, the library needs you and your special powers."

"I have powers?"

"More than you know. Now follow me, or stay here and experience more tragedies of your fine china." Arthur sighed.

"I guess I have no choice." The cat nodded and jumped out the window. Arthur looked at the ground. It was so far up, he was sure to splatter all over the pavement.

"Just trust me." said the cat. Arthur gulped and jumped out the window. The fall seemed endless, making him feel as light as a feather. When he opened his eyes, he was in front of a large stone door. The cat had disappeared and left him all alone. A hand grabbed him, causing him to whip around. It was Mary-Ann.

"Shhh." she said. In her hand was a little golden key. She put it in the lock on the door and turned it. She turned to Arthur.

"Go ahead, open it."

Arthur did what he was told. The minute he opened it, he was amazed. The room was magnifiencent. Golden lights poured everywhere. Books flew everywhere on their own, little creatures were on the shelves reading forgotten folklore. Fairies were fighting over what seemed to be a spell book. Arthur's jaw dropped.

"How is this possible?"

"There's a lot we don't know about, who said this was impossible." Replied Mary-Ann. Oh look, there's Jonathon right now to welcome you."

The man shook Arthur's hand eagerly.

"It's finally nice to meet you in person Mr. Kirkland. My name is Jonathon. I'm this library's caretaker. Feel free to ask me any questions regarding us here."

"Well first of all, why am I here? The cat said you needed me or something like that."

"Ah, Artemis said that? Well he's right. We do need you Arthur. Look around. To most humans that walk through these doors, it's just a normal library. To us, it's a magical resource. We chose you because outside this library, the magical creatures you see before you are completely invisible to humans out there. But you can see them regardless of out there or in here. You have an extraordinary ability, embrace it. So what do you say Arthur," said Jonathon, making a contract out of nowhere complete with quill. "are you ready to become a wizard's assistant?"

Arthur hesitated, no one ever got this opportunity before, so if he turned it down…

"Oh, what the heck." he said finally and signed it. The contract disappeared.

"So when do I start?" he asked. Jonathon smiled.

"Right now." The scene faded and before he knew it, he was back in his bedroom once more. Arthur observed the room; it was normal, nothing out of place except for the package on his bed.

The letter said;

"_As my new assistant, you get a spell book and a wand. Use it well and practice every day. Remember knowledge is power. Also don't worry about Peter, he has no recollection of the strange things that happened. Signed, Jonathon Winthrop." _

Arthur picked up the spell book. It was labeled; 'Magic for dummies'. He opened it.

"_Casting your first spell might be tricky, maybe even in impossible, but in due time, you're sure to rise to a fully fledged spell caster." Lesson one: summoning spell._

"_Summoning is no easy task, takes concentration and skill. That's something you won't have the first time you open this book. Hold out your wand and concentrate, let the wand guide your hand. And repeat the words; Li convoco Shakespeare! _

Arthur stopped reading and began doing what the book said. Wand in his hand, he repeated over and over again the words, nothing happened. He tried again…

"Arthur, what are you doing?" The eldest brother turned around. Peter was standing before him with his arms crossed.

"Nothing." replied Arthur.

"Keep it down, I can here you talking to yourself again, people will think you're crazy."

A few days later Arthur found himself going to the Library once more, but not to check out a book, it was because he had been called finally to retrieve something.

"Arthur, your first retrieval will be to get the secret scrolls. The info about them can be found in our sister library in Paris." said Jonathon.

"You-mean?"

"Yep, you better study your French fast."

_Notes, _

_Ugh, so long! I don't like this chapter! Anyway, hope you like! And thanks for the alerts._

_67,401 pounds is 108,000 in U.S dollars. _

_Li convoco Shakespeare! Is Italian for I summon you Shakespeare._


End file.
